


Not even slightly good

by SquigglyAverageJoe



Series: Something Wrong [4]
Category: Yandere Simulator (Video Game)
Genre: And That Is Bad, But This Is About To Be Deleted, For New, Heads Up I guess, JUST, SO, contains spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:53:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27202747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SquigglyAverageJoe/pseuds/SquigglyAverageJoe
Summary: Ayano’s parents meet her new boyfriend—and it goes better than it should.
Series: Something Wrong [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1921147
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Not even slightly good

**Author's Note:**

> This does have spoilers for New, but I wanted to post it so it didn’t get deleted, and I will be adding more parts to it.

Everything was dark, likely because of the cloth over her eyes. He tried to keep calm and think. _Ayano,_ he tried to say, but he couldn’t speak with the cloth in his mouth.

”Senpai?” A hand caressed his cheek and he felt himself shiver. “Are you awake?”

He had been for hours.

There was a giggle. “Sorry, I didn’t... _want_ to do this to you,” she said. A part of him hoped that maybe, this wasn’t actually Ayano, because he had seen Ayano and Ayano didn’t look like a kidnapper. “I just wasn’t sure what else to do with you, Senpai... I’m really... Really glad to finally be alone with you, Senpai.”

Good—because he wasn’t glad at all, he was panicking.

A finger traced his cheek and pushed against his lips, slipping between the cloth. “If I ungag you, you aren’t going to scream, are you?” His breath caught in his throat—he was pretty sure he was on the verge of a panic attack, but he didn’t entirely know what panic attacks were supposed to feel like. “Nod if you can hear me, Senpai.”

He nodded—and Ayano pulled on the gag, taking it out of his mouth. “Aishi—“ He said.

”Shh...” She ran a hand through his hair. “Stay calm. I’m not going to hurt you.”

”Can you untie me?” He asked. “Please?”

”No...” She hesitated. “But I took your gag out. You won’t make me regret that, will you?”

”No.” He kept his voice soft because he was fighting to keep it steady because he was still fighting off a panic attack. “No,” he said. “I won’t.”

”Good.”

She giggled, but at the very least, it sounded nervous. “You don’t have to look so scared... I won’t hurt you, Senpai.”

”Aishi...”

”You can call me Ayano,” she said.

”Ayano,” he said, instead—he might as well. It felt kind of rude, but Ayano _was_ holding him hostage and bound to a chair, so he should probably stay on her good side. “Why am I here?”

She stroked his hair, fingers running through his scalp. For a moment, she was quiet, and he wasn’t sure if that meant she was thinking her answer over, or if maybe, she hadn’t heard him. Or maybe she was ignoring him, which didn’t make much sense because she had just taken the gag out. Her hand stilled and she leaned forward and sniffed his hair before moaning. He leaned away, “Ayano?”

”Huh?” It was like she had been in a daze that she was snapping out of. “Sorry, what was that, Senpai?”

”Why am I here?” He moved his hands, as if to gesture to the chair he was tied to, but he couldn’t really move, couldn’t even see. “...Are... you going to kill me?”

Ayano sounded horrified—and what a strange sound to come from _her_ voice. “Of course not! Why would you think that?”

”Well... You kidnapped me... And now I’m tied up... I wouldn’t be surprised to be in an abandoned warehouse or something.”

”Don’t you worry, Senpai.” Hands cupped his face—he wasn’t entirely sure how to react. Under normal circumstances, he’d pull away or ask Ayano to stop, but normal circumstances did not involve being strapped to a chair, who knows where, blindfolded. “I’m not going to kill you.” She stroked his hair again. “Your hair’s a lot softer than I imagined it being.” She sighed—another sniff. Great. His skin was crawling. “And you smell so good...”

”Um...” Well, he didn’t want to piss Ayano off right now. “Thank you?” Ayano giggled, still cupping his face with both of her hands. The room went silent and Ayano tilted his head, this way, that way, like she was examining him. He squirmed, but Ayano didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t seem to care about whether or not he was comfortable with this. “Ayano—“ She leaned her head forward to rest her forehead against his. “Oh, we’re doing this now.” She was still holding his face.

He realized he barely knew what Ayano looked like. He knew she was pale. Black hair. ...That was it. He could feel her breath on his face, fingers running over his cheek, nose, tracing over his lips. “You’re so handsome,” she sighed, almost dreamily. For her, this was a dream come true.

He wasn’t a hundred percent sure this wasn’t a nightmare.

”Can you untie me?” He asked. “Please, Ayano?”

She giggled again. “Alright,” she said. “I’ll remove the blindfold—but that’s it, okay? If I untie you, you’ll try to escape, and I promise, you’re not going to get away from me, Senpai, it’s jut going to hurt the both of us.” She ran a hand through his hair again and pulled the blindfold off.

He squinted, blinking—nearby, a lamp was pointed at them both, shining near blinding, white light. Ayano was giggling again. “What...” Ayano’s hand drifted from the back of his head to his neck. “What exactly are you going to do to me?”

”Hold onto you forever and never let go,” she said. He shivered—she kept moving her fingers, slowly, gently. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. I just... didn’t know how to talk to you.”

”Well,” he said. “We’re... We’re talking now, aren’t we?”

”Yes,” she said, softly. Maybe this was a dumb thing to notice, but her pupils had dilated—like, a lot. “We are. And I’m loving every minute of it.”

There was a noise above them, like a slammed door. Something scraped. Ayano frowned and pulled away from him, gazing upwards. “What was that?” He asked.

Ayano frowned. “Either... my house is being robbed or... my parents are home.” She stroked his cheek, looking fondly down at him. “I know it’s early, but would you like to meet them? You don’t have to be nervous, they don’t bite—and I’m sure they’ll like you. I didn’t think they’d get home this soon.”

She paused. “I’m going to go say hi to them.” She combed her fingers though his hair gently, moving it from his eyes. “Don’t be nervous, it’ll be fine.” She turned his head and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be right back, Senpai—don’t go anywhere!”

It was a useless addition to the sentence, with him being tied to a chair and all. He sank further into the chair, heart still racing.

What the fuck was happening?

Her mother’s face all but lit up once she saw her daughter. “Oh, Ayano!” She exclaimed, hugging her tightly immediately. “Oh, we’ve missed you, dear!” She pressed a kiss on her forehead.

Her father looked over at her. “What are you doing in your school uniform?” He asked, hugging her too. “I thought it was the weekend.”

“It is,” she said. “I just...” She looked down at her uniform, wrinkled and messy. “I um... It’s kind of a long story.”

”It is?” Her mother asked. “Why don’t I make us all something to eat and you can tell us all about it?” She was grinning—there was a bruise on her cheek. “We’d love to hear everything that happened while we were gone, wouldn’t we, darling?” She looked over at her husband.

”Yes,” he said. “We would.” He was carrying himself differently then when Ayano had seen him last.

”Actually...” Ayano stared down at her shoes. “Um... I... You know that... boy I mentioned?”

Her mother gasped. “Oh, Ayano, I almost forgot! Yes, tell us about him!”

She was blushing. “His name’s Taro Yamada. He has black hair, grey eyes... He likes to read. He’s... always sitting at the fountain at school, reading the same book. He likes it outside, and he’s... really nice, and...” She swallowed. “He’s in the basement.”

Her mother gasped again. “You mean...?”

Ayano nodded. “I... I found the tapes... And... I just wanted to have some alone time with him.” Her father wasn’t looking at her. For a minute, she didn’t know why, and then she did and she couldn’t look at him—but this... This was right, she thought. This felt right to her.

”Oh, darling!” She grabbed her husband’s arm. “Isn’t that so sweet? Ayano, you have to let us see him. I need to meet my daughter’s soulmate!”

”But, Ryoba, what about...” He trailed off. Ayano couldn’t know what it was he wasn’t saying, but Ryoba seemed to pick up on it quickly.

”Oh, don’t worry about that, darling!” She exclaimed. “He isn’t going anywhere.” She looked back at their daughter. “Can we see him, Ayano?”

She nodded. “We were talking when you guys got home,” she said, feeling like she had to explain, and also wanting to never stop talking about her Senpai. “He’s... a little scared right now, and kind of confused, but I think he’s taking it well.”

”Oh, that’s good!” Her mother chirped, and turned to look at her husband. “Isn’t it, darling?” He didn’t answer, but he didn’t need to. She only laughed.

He heard footsteps above him, but he wasn’t facing the stairs on the side of the room. He craned his neck to try and see, but he still couldn’t. He swallowed, hard, and called out, “Hello? Ay-Ayano?”

There was a pause—and then the footsteps continued, and a door opened somewhere nearby. Three pairs of footsteps continued on the stairs, creaking beneath added weight as Ayano returned—with her parents. “Taro-senpai?” She was still dressed in her uniform, still disheveled, her ponytail coming undone, but she smiled brightly at him—like this was a normal and good thing happening, and not a traumatizing experience.

”You don’t have to look so nervous,” Ayano said, her voice basically a coo. She rested one of her hands on top of his and squeezed gently—maybe she realized how terrifying this was for him. “Don’t worry, it’s just my parents.”

He looked over. Ayano’s mother just looked like an older version of her, pale with black hair, curvy and tall, in a purple sweater. “Oh, Ayano!” She exclaimed. “I’m so proud of you! You did this all by yourself?”

She nodded. “It was pretty difficult.” Ayano was looking at him now, he noted in the back of his mind, but he couldn’t look at her. “Taro’s been... pretty popular with the girls at our school.”

”Oh?” Ayano’s mother asked—he wasn’t looking at her either. “That’s okay, dear—your father was the same, when I was your age.”

He kept staring at Ayano’s father. He was just as pale as his daughter, with black hair and grey eyes. But the thing that was really bothering Taro was bone white, large scar over his cheek and nose and near the corner of his eye. it was large, obvious—and just as ugly as it was scary, and the fact that this man’s eyes were wide in horror and he was staring intently at him did not make it look any better.

”What did you say his name was again, dear?” The woman asked.

”Taro,” Ayano sighed, dreamily. “Taro Yamada.”

“Oh, he looks lovely, dear.” The woman looked over at him and giggled—it sounded way, way too much like Ayano’s and he felt nauseous. “Have you been taking good care of my Ayano, Taro?” She asked.

He couldn’t answer. “He has,” Ayano said for him. She squeezed his hand again. “He hasn’t been here for too long though,” even though this felt like forever. “It was really difficult to get him down here.” He looked over at her briefly. “You’re heavy, Taro,” she said. “Sorry.” Her fingers were tracing patterns on the back of his hand—she looked very happy.

”I’m so happy for you, Ayano,” her mother said. “Darling.” She turned to her husband. “You haven’t said a word—aren’t you happy about this?”

The man was still staring at him. “Ry-Ryoba, what about the...?” He trailed off, unwilling to name whatever he was talking about in front of his daughter.

Taro frowned. “Ryoba...?” He murmured.

Ryoba sighed. “You’re right. Of course you’re right, darling.” She pecked his cheek. “You can catch up with Ayano and welcome the newest member of our family without me, can’t you?”

”Wait,” he said, and _immediately,_ he had Ayano’s attention. “You’re mother’s... _Ryoba Aishi?_ ” He asked. He was absolutely flabbergasted.

“Yes,” Ayano said.

Ryoba was looking at him and grinning. “Oh,” she said. “You know my name?” He knew a lot more than her name. “Well, I know it’s not from the news, I was just _Girl A_. Being a minor and all that.” He flushed—he shouldn’t have said that. Great. He had a feeling those murder accusations were a little more than accusations, suddenly. “Where’d you hear my name before?”

”My...” He looked over at Ayano, but she didn’t seem to be as fearful as he was, and didn’t seem to be up for protecting him right now. “My mother was friends with a girl who went to Akademi, when she was my age.” He swallowed. “She was a gossip, she um... talk about a g-girl stalking an upperclassman.” As he spoke, Ryoba ran a hand down her husbands arm, smiling contently. “...Later, she was killed, my... mother said she was always sure that girl did it, because she had a crush on that upperclassman.”

”I see,” she said. “Do you know what that girl’s name was?”

”Um... I don’t, I’ve only seen a few pictures of her, my mother loved her...”

”What was it she looked like?” Ryoba asked. “Tons of girls loved my darling husband, back in the eighties.”

”Um...” He swallowed. “She had light brown skin naturally, but she was also pretty... tan. Lots of tan lines. And she um, had curly brown hair.” Ryoba tapped a finger to her chin in thought. “My mother said she used to wear seashell earrings?”

”Oh!” Ryoba exclaimed. “Nagisa Hamamura! Oh, darling, do you remember her?”

”Yes,” he said, quietly. “I remember her.” This was a disturbing conversation, but he didn’t look disturbed or horrified—his face looked blank.

”I wish you didn’t, though,” Ryoba sighed. “Of all the girls after you, I think she was the prettiest. But, god, she was _fun_ to kill.” Taro paled—great. The girl who kidnapped him had a mother who was a serial killer. “She had the... prettiest voice—it was even prettier when she screamed.” Her husband was staring at the floor.

”Why... Why did you kill her?” He asked, and he couldn’t keep that horror out of his voice.

Ryoba grinned. “She had a thing for that upperclassman,” she said, simply. “And I wanted him.” God, that was chilling. He couldn’t breathe. He looked over at Ayano, but she didn’t seem at all worried. “Oh, don’t worry! I shouldn’t have to hurt you. You don’t have a thing for men, do you, Taro?”

”N...No...”

She smiled. “Then we shouldn’t have a problem.”

Ayano’s grip on his hand was almost possessive—which made sense, since he was tied to a chair in her basement. “Don’t even joke about that,” she said and her mother giggled.

”Oh, you know I’m teasing.” She leaned over to kiss her husband’s cheek again. “You be nice to him, dear,” she said. “You know how difficult it is to go through this, don’t you?” Taro watched her leave up the stairs and looked back at Ayano, who seemed perfectly content to just stroke his hair and hold his hand.

Immediately, Ayano’s father swallowed and took a step back. “I... need to do... something.”

He too, went up the stairs and disappeared.

”See?” Ayano said, voice gentle. “That went great.”

He almost slammed into his wife—she had a tendency to appear when he least expected it. “Darling,” she said. “Aren’t you happy for our Ayano?”

”...Yes,” he lied.

”I know you are,” she said. She grabbed his hand. “I think they’re a good match, don’t you?”

”Yes.” She pulled him closer. “...She certainly looks... happy.”

”Yes,” she said. “Very happy. You wouldn’t ruin that for our daughter, right?” They both stared at each other—he knew what this meant.

”...Right,” he said.

”Good. I’m off then!” She pecked his lips. “I’ll start dinner when I come home. This shouldn’t take long.”

As terrified as he was, this was getting really boring. Ayano seemed at ease, running her fingers through his hair gently. “You look so good like this, Senpai.”

He didn’t want to be rude. “Thank you, Ayano.” She smiled. “Um... Is there any chance you’re gonna untie me anytime soon?”

”No,” she said. “Not for a long time, probably. I don’t want you to run away.”

 _Well, I do want to run away._ “...Right.”

”Oh! I brought a water bottle down here, in case you were thirsty, Senpai.” She stepped away and grabbed a plastic water bottle from the corner. “Here.”

She lifted it to his lips and poured a small mouthful and let him swallow. “How... long are you gonna call me that?” He asked.

”I don’t know,” Ayano said, twisting the cap back on. “My mother started calling my father ‘darling’ near immediately, and I always kind of assumed I would do the same, in the way that you don’t really know when you’re young, you know? But calling you darling feels... wrong. I don’t want to be that much like my mother.”

”Actually,” he said, softly. “I was wondering how much you take after her.”

Ayano smiled. “What do you mean, Taro?”

”So... Your mother... actually did kill all those girls?” He asked. He swallowed—his mouth still felt dry.

”Yes,” she said, softly. “I’m... still kind of shocked about it, too—but she’s been a good mother to me. And I’d _never_ let her hurt you, Taro.”

”Right,” he said. “So, she killed all those girls. ...Did you kill...” His voice cracked. “Osana?” Ayano’s expression faltered. “Or... Muja Kina?” Ayano looked away from him. “Ayano... did you kill my sister?”

She went silent. “...What about ‘love?’” She asked, dodging the question together. “Would you be okay with that?”

”Why won’t you answer me?” He asked—his voice cracked. He got desperate. “Ayano... Please... Please tell me you didn’t...”

”Alright then,” she said and pushed her hands into his, intertwining their fingers. “I didn’t, Taro. I didn’t kill them.” Her eyes were wide, she was smiling—and somehow, he knew she was lying. He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. “I love you, Taro. I’ll take good care of you, l-love.” Her smile turned into a grin. “You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to tell you that, Taro!”

He didn’t respond. Ayano blinked. “...Let’s get you some more water,” she said and untwisted the cap again. “I want you to stay hydrated.” She pushed it back at his lips. “Swallow, love.”

She pulled the bottle back and wiped some water off of his lips. “I’m so excited,” she said, tone honest. “I’m so glad, finally—you...” Her hand cupped her cheek again. “You’re really something, Taro. Did you know that? Something... _good._ ”

He didn’t respond.

Ayano settled down in the basement with him and seemed perfectly satisfied to just stand there and stroke his hair. It was incredibly uncomfortable in multiple ways. He kept squirming against the ropes, in the chair. “Sorry, love,” Ayano said. “I guess it’s not that comfortable, huh?” She squeezed his hand. “It’s a really old chair. My grandmother had my grandfather tied to this chair—I think she built it herself, just for him. Isn’t that sweet?”

No. That was horrifying. “How old is this chair?”

“Well, she untied him eventually, gave birth to my mother, so... Forty plus? Pretty old for a chair.” She sighed, looking over him—he was still terrified. “Are you hungry, love?”

Probaly—but his stomach was in such a tight knot, he didn’t think he’d be able to eat anything. He shook his head. “Oh, love, it’s okay.” She stroked his cheek, turned his face and leaned in close until they were inches away. “I’m not going to poison you. I... have a lot of things I need to sort out, but I’m going to try really hard to take care of you.” She slid a finger down to his neck. “I’m gonna go talk to my parents real quick, and get an estimate on dinner.” She kissed his cheek gently. “Would you prefer to eat upstairs with my family or do you want to stay down here?”

”Um...” He didn’t know how to answer. “Down... here?”

She giggled. “You don’t have to be shy, love. We’ll eat down here for tonight.” She kissed his temple and walked out, quietly.

When she came back down, she was dressed in tight, grey pants and a t-shirt, holding a plate. “I know you said you weren’t hungry, but can you try and eat something for me?” She smiled gently—he still didn’t know how to respond. She placed it on his lap and moved to the corner, sliding another chair closer and sitting down across from him, but so close, their knees were touching. “Perfect.” She trapped the plate again and the chopsticks. “Are you feeling alright, Taro?”

He nodded weakly. It seemed to be enough for Ayano. She picked up a piece of food. “You don’t have to be scared,” she said. “You’re safe now.”

He kept his voice calm. “None of this feels safe. I don’t know where I am.”

”My basement,” Ayano said, softly. “And there’s only three people you need to worry about coming in here, love—my father, my mother, and me. And no one is going to hurt you.”

”Right,” he said.

”Open.” She tried to feed him, and even though he didn’t want to piss her off, since she kidnapped him and everything, he couldn’t open his mouth. “It’s okay, love,” she said. “It’s fine, I promise. Look.” She put whatever it was into her mouth and chewed quickly, swallowing just as quickly. “It’s fine. Please eat.”

He sighed and opened his mouth—it was embarrassing, to say the least. Ayano placed a small piece of food—some vegetable, probably, but he wasn’t paying enough attention to notice—onto his tongue and sighed contently while he chewed. “You’re gorgeous.”

”...Thank... you?” Ayano glanced down at the plate. “If you don’t want to hurt me,” he said—and Ayano looked up at him. “Then... why are you keeping me tied to a chair in your basement?”

”So you can’t escape!” Ayano took another bite. “I’m just going to love you, Taro—I won’t harm a hair on your head.” She tried to feed him another bite. Taro swallowed quickly so he could keep questioning her.

”That’s it?”

”...Sort of,” Ayano said, which wasn’t a very good answer. “But you don’t have to worry—I won’t hurt you. Did you think I was going to?”

”...Yeah,” he said. “People don’t usually tie their loved ones up in their basement.”

”They do in my family,” Ayano said.

It was not a nice thought to have.

Ayano kept yawning, but seemed unwilling to leave his side. “What time is it?” He asked.

”Late,” she sighed. “Eleven forty nine. Are you getting tired, love?”

How the hell was he going to sleep in a dim basement like this? He didn’t want to sleep here—he kept thinking about how unsafe he felt. He felt like he wouldn’t wake up. “No,” he said.

Ayano smiled. “I understand... You were out for awhile.” She ran a hand through his hair again. “If I could have it my way, I’d have you in my bedroom, you know.” That was worse than the basement, he thought. “Somewhere brighter. More comfortable.” She sighed. “I don’t like keeping you down here.”

He swallowed and summoned up whatever courage a person could have in a situation like this. “You don’t have to keep me down here,” he said.

”Well...” Ayano didn’t shut it down immediately. “Where else would I keep you?”

”You could...” Ayano didn’t seem to be piecing together where this conversation was going, what he was about to say, and maybe that was what made him keep going. “...let me go.”

Ayano blinked, so he continued. “I get that you... like me and all. And... I’m glad, I liked you a lot at school too.” He had more to say, but Ayano interrupted him, eyes wide, face glowing.

”You did?”

He nodded—and he hated to admit it, but even kidnapped, tied to a chair, knowing that Ayano might have killed at least three people didn’t do much to erase the picture he had of her in his head. Ayano had been nice at school—a bit deadpan, maybe, and sometimes a little weird, but she had been nice. “I know that... I wasn’t really... available... once my sister died, but... This whole thing feels _really_ out of character for you. If you...” He took a shaky breath. “If you untie me, right now, and let me go home, we can...start dating. Like a normal pair of teenagers.” Ayano’s gaze was almost dreamy—he wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. “We can go on dates, and...” He wasn’t entirely sure how to navigate a love life with a murderer/kidnapper, especially with his parents who seemed to be on their way to divorce, and Ayano’s mother was a serial killer and a kidnapper who married one of her victims, it seemed like. “...It’ll be fun.”

Her voice was awed, like she never considered this as a possibility. “You really mean that, Taro, love?”

He nodded. “I do, Ayano,” he insisted. “I’m... sure it’d be a lot better of an idea then keeping me in your basement.”

”Oh, Taro...” She bit her lip. “I... I want to. I swear, I want to, that... that sounds like _heaven,_ Taro, really. I... I want you to be happy and I want you to introduce me to your parents as your girlfriend, and I want to go to school and tell everyone that I’m dating you, but...” Her gaze drifted from him to his bonds. “Are you... sure you won’t try to run away from me?”

”So long as you don’t give me a reason to run away,” he said. “And I mean... you haven’t, in the like, ten to eleven weeks I’ve known you, I’ve never _feared_ you, Ayano.”

”And... I don’t want you to fear me,” she said. “...I love you, Taro.”

”...I love you too,” he said. “But... you shouldn’t keep people you love tied to a chair in your basement. So... untie me.”

She grabbed at one of the ropes against his wrist and hesitated. “...Taro. If I... If I untie you...”

”I won’t run away,” he said. “I promise.”

”...But you... You won’t tell the cops?”

”No,” he said. “No, of course not, they don’t have to know about this.” ...But they did have to know she was a murderer. That she was the reason three girls were dead.

She might have done it, too. She might have untied him right here, right now—and he wouldn’t have immediately run for a door, a chance of escape, because he knew Ayano would probably follow him, and would probably catch him and he’d probably be back in the basement, back at square one.

The door to the basement opened and suddenly, Ryoba Aishi stood on the bottom of the stairs, watching them. “It’s getting late,” she said. “Ayano, I know you’re excited about your new boyfriend, but you need to get to bed.”

Ayano pulled her hand back from the ropes as if they had burned her. He internally cursed. “I...” She trailed off and looked at him.

Ryoba’s lips curled into a smile. “They always try to bargain with you, dear,” she said. “Don’t let them fool you—he’ll come around, I promise. Get to bed; Taro will be there in the morning.”

Well, he would now! Ayano looked at him and smiled. “Night, Taro. We’ll talk in the morning, okay, love?” She kissed his lips sweetly—he bit back the fear he felt, because the last thing he needed was to lash out at Ayano right now, or demand she let him loose. That wouldn’t work well for him, and some part of his terrified, tired mind could understand that. He forced himself to nod. That was good enough for her, apparently. She stepped towards the stairs.

Ryoba whispered something to her. Ayano nodded and continued up the stairs and Taro _really_ hoped Ryoba would go after her daughter, but she lingered there for a minute. “You shouldn’t be lying to my daughter like that, you know,” she said.

”I... wasn’t lying.” He swallowed.

”They always lie,” she said. “My daughter was sleep deprived and wanted to make you comfortable and you wanted her to untie you so you could run away from your new girlfriend.”

”I wouldn’t have run,” he said, honestly.

She took a step forward. “Poor thing,” she said, and she kept walking forward, cupped his chin and made him look up at her. “I feel bad for you,” she said. “Really. I know it’s hard, I know you’re confused and scared...” Her grip tightened. He cringed but met her eyes. “But you’re not leaving. You be nice to my Ayano! She clearly loves you to keep you here.” She let go. “I’ll let you get some sleep, but if you try to run from my daughter, I’ll help her figure out where exactly to break your spine so you can never run away from her—let alone walk—again.” He felt the color drain from his face—but Ryoba only smiled. “Sleep well.” She let go of him and stepped away. The lights in the basement went off and somewhere, a door shut, leaving him alone in the dark.

He did not get to sleep.

“Ayano, dear,” she said, cupping her chin. Ayano didn’t meet her eyes, like she was ashamed. “You need to be careful. You never know who you have in that basement until they’re in that basement.”

Ayano frowned. “What do you mean?”

”Oh, just... that...” She reached over and tucked a strand of Ayano’s hair behind her ear—she was glad to be around her daughter again. “Sometimes, when you tie boys in your basement, they get really scared—and it’s difficult to tell how they’ll respond. My father bit my mother once.” It was late—she needed to get to bed, and Ayano needed to get to bed. “You have to be careful. What if he hurt you?”

“I...” She cleared her throat. “I don’t think he would have.”

”He probably would have,” she said. “And even if he didn’t, he’d try to escape. You don’t want that, do you?”

Ayano shook her head. She smiled. “You should go sleep some, Ayano—it’s been a long day. But, for the record, I’m _really_ proud of you.”

She knew Ayano wouldn’t really be grateful for the kind words, but regardless, she still wanted to say it. “Thanks, mom,” she said.

”Of course.” She pulled her daughter into a hug—it was nice to be home.


End file.
